Poker Face

Chapter 27 - Notes

"Boss?" Arat's voice came through the thin door of the RV bedroom. She knocked tentatively when he didn't answer.

"Fuck off, Arat!" Negan groaned, half-asleep.

"We're back," she grunted with an eye roll as she exited the RV. Aven yawned, stretching out the arm that wasn't pinned between her and Negan's bodies. She started to sit up but Negan's arm around her waist pulled her back down.

"Let's just stay here for now," he mumbled huskily, not opening his eyes. Aven smiled and gladly snuggled back up against him. She drifted off again, her breath synced with his as his heartbeat lulled her softly. It was another hour before Negan woke fully and looked down to see her fast asleep against his chest. He brought his hand up to stroke her hair and place a firm kiss on the top of her head and she stirred with a deep breath, peeking up at him groggily. "Hey," he grinned down at her.

"Hi." She craned her neck to kiss him softly on his jawline, nuzzling her nose against him. He let out a contented sigh and held her more tightly.

"Fuck, doll. How did I get so lucky to find you?" he murmured, noticing the dried blood on his jacket and remembering her zeal for him that morning and the night before. Aven stared up at him amorously and shrugged.

"Guess you're just a lucky fucking guy," she replied. He placed another kiss on her forehead and they lay there silently for another few minutes before Aven spoke again. "Why did you get rid of your wives?" she asked. Negan took a deep breath, sighing away the sleep that still lingered in his eyes.

"It's like I said," he began. "Sherry was untrustworthy and that's not something I have time to worry about. My wives were supposed to reduce stress, not add to it." Aven nodded thoughtfully.

"That's not why."

"Sure it fuckin' is. You saw it, she was trying to manipulate me, and failing, might I fuckin' add. And in the end she got both herself and her sister killed. I can't waste my fucking time on dumbasses like that."

"But what about Amber and the other two?" Aven asked, the names slipping her mind as she'd never even been introduced.

"You said it yourself," he replied. "Amber's an alcoholic. That's one more problem I don't need."

"And the other two, why'd you get rid of them?" she asked knowingly. "What was wrong with them?"

"Super annoying," he chimed. "Catty bitches."

"Wow, you are really avoiding the full answer," she laughed. "I can be a super annoying catty bitch and you know it."

"I sure fuckin' do," he sneered. "So it's like I told everyone that day we got back: you're a fucking handful. I'm just one fucking man."

"So I'm more stress that you probably don't need."

"You are the exact kind of fucking stress I need," he growled.

"What happens when I'm gone?" Aven asked. Negan tensed, his arm around her tightening as though to keep her from leaving him.

"You planning on fucking going somewhere?"

"I just think it's weird that you only knew me for a few weeks before upturning life. How do you even know you can trust me? I'm not quite sure what you want from me here." She looked up to see him staring quizically down at her. "How do you know after such a short time that this is what you want?"

"I know what I fucking want."

"No you don't," she retorted immediately, earning a slightly offended jaw-drop from him. "You thought you wanted a group of women to keep you company and apparently that wasn't the case."